Dylan O’Brien opens up on how his accident helped him in ‘American Assassin’ role

After suffering some major injuries during a traumatic accident on the set of The Maze Runner‘s final installment, The Death Cure, actor Dylan O’Brien is back on the big-screen with his new movie American Assassin.

“I had a severe concussion and brain trauma,” Dylan told the San Fransisco Chronicle about his accident. “I basically broke this whole side of my face,” he said about the right side of his face.

“I had to have facial reconstructive surgery. Got plates in there now. I thought that was just it, that my face was never gonna look the same again,” he said.

“I now look at the experience as having gotten away really luckily. A, just walking away from it. And B, getting this great doctor who took care of me and really fixed me up.”

As for using his accident in his new role as a CIA blackops recruit in American Assassin, Dylan said: “That strength comes, in a way, from having survived these traumatic incidents. Obviously, it’s not every one of those guys, but I felt really connected to that.”

Dylan also revealed that he was terrified to take on the demanding role after his accident, saying: “Inside, you’re wanting to run away — you don’t want to do it, you know?”

“It ended up being one of the best experiences of my life. I’m really glad I was able to finish it. I thought I felt relief after ‘Assassin’; this was the ultimate kind of weightless. … It had been over a year at that point since the accident, and I felt more free and like myself once I accomplished that than I had the whole year.”

Meanwhile, Dylan was spotted doing press work for the movie in New York City on Wednesday (Sept. 6), where he joined his co-star Taylor Kitsch and Director Michael Cuesta at a screening of the film after chatting about the new picture during an AOL Build segment (watch their interview below!).

You can catch American Assassins in theatres when it opens on Friday, Sept. 15.